White Shell (or White Bead) Woman, also called Turquoise Woman and Abalone Woman, is sometimes said to be a younger version of Changing Woman. White is the color of dawn and of the east. White Shell Woman, the creator and sustainer of life, created the Navajo people and sent them their home. As gifts, she gave them shells, which became corn and other food-bearing plants; she gave them the animals; she gave them the gifts of rain and beautiful flowers. With the sun, she is the mother of Killer-of-Enemies and Child-of-the-Water, the dual protectors of the people from their enemies.
A Navajo chant says “All things around me are restored in beauty.” It is because of White Shell Woman that this is so, and it is because of her teachings that we can experience the exquisite harmony that comes from being alive on this beautiful earth.
Our beautiful global goddess images are drawn each month from the Goddesses Knowledge Cards, painted by Susan Seddon Boulet with text by Michael Babcock. The deck of 48 cards can be ordered from Pomegrate Communications in Petaluma, California. (We are not affiliated with Pomegranate in any way, we just love these cards!)
Leave a Reply